Celtic returned to winning ways in impressive fashion in the Scottish Premiership with a thrilling 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Saturday, including a stunning long-range strike from Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The Hoops are now on the verge of clinching their fourth successive league title, and would have been crowned champions if not for Ianis Hagi scoring a stoppage-time screamer to rescue a point for Rangers against Aberdeen on Sunday.
This means that Brendan Rodgers will lift the title for the second time in as many seasons since his return to the club, and for the fourth time in four full seasons at Celtic in his managerial career.
There is also the SFA Cup that is still to play for, with a semi-final against St. Johnstone coming up this weekend, and the Hoops can set their sights on a domestic treble, having already won the League Cup.
They will also be planning for the future and what they want to do in the upcoming summer transfer window, with Kieran Tierney arriving on a free transfer from Arsenal being the only confirmed piece of business so far.
There are some contract situations that Celtic have to be mindful of and there will be some difficult decisions to make in the coming months because of them.
Celtic's out-of-contract players this summer
Firstly, James McCarthy’s contract at Parkhead is due to come to an end this summer after four years at the club, having joined on a free transfer from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021 under Ange Postecoglou.
The 34-year-old dud has only played 27 matches for the first-team in those four years and has not made a single appearance for the Hoops since the 2022/23 campaign, with his most recent outing for the club in any capacity coming in the Lowland League for the B team last term.
Celtic should, therefore, move on from the former Premier League defensive midfielder when his contract finally comes to an end this summer, as he is – clearly – not a key figure, or even a visible figure, at Parkhead under Rodgers.
Another player who is technically out of contract at Paradise this summer is Crystal Palace loanee Jeffrey Schlupp, whose loan is due to come to an end.
Appearances (starts)
9 (6)
Goals
1
Assists
1
Tackles + interceptions
1.7
Dribbled past per game
0.3x
Ground duel success rate
54%
Aerial duel success rate
53%
As you can see in the table above, the Ghana international has provided a strong defensive presence in his appearances in the Premiership since joining the Hoops in January, winning the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air, without being dribbled past frequently by opposition forwards.
His contract with Palace expires this summer and it could be a shrewd move by the Scottish giants to attempt to snap him up on a free transfer.
Greg Taylor is the third and final player who is out of contract at Celtic at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, and Rodgers has made his wish clear.
What Rodgers wants Taylor to do with his future
Speaking after the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, the Northern Irish head coach made it clear that he wants to keep the Scotland international at Parkhead beyond the end of his current deal.
When asked about the situation, he told the Daily Record: “I’ll always fight to the very end for a player and a person like Greg. He’s earned the right to make the decision he wants, but I think you see in his performance today how important he is in that role for us. It opens up so much, and he plays like a midfield player for us. We’ll always try to convince (him to stay). But we’ll see what happens from now until the end of the season.”
These quotes left no uncertainty over the manager’s position on Taylor’s future. Rodgers wants the left-back to put pen to paper on a new deal, but it remains to be seen whether or not that will happen.
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Hull City, QPR, Trabzonspor, and Dinamo Zagreb were all linked with an interest in the defender in January, ahead of a summer swoop, which suggests that he will have plenty of options to pick from ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Despite Rodgers’ wish to keep hold of Taylor, Celtic must permanently bin the former Kilmarnock man by deciding to move on from him at the end of his current contract.
Why Celtic should move on from Greg Taylor
With Tierney on his way back to Parkhead and Taylor’s contract expiring this summer, it could be the perfect time for the club to finally part ways with the Scottish dud.
The Hoops number three, who has been outscored (one) by Carter-Vickers (two) in all competitions with the defender’s screamer on Saturday, should be released due to his lack of quality on the European stage.
Celtic have dominated domestic football in recent seasons under Rodgers. If they win the SFA Cup and the Premiership then they will have won five of the six domestic trophies on offer since his return to the club, having won all three in Postecoglou’s final season.
It is in Europe, therefore, where the Hoops must target improvement and changes to the squad must be made with this goal in mind in the summer window.
24/25
Play-off round
N/A
N/A
23/24
Group stage
N/A
N/A
22/23
Group stage
N/A
N/A
21/22
Second round qualifying
Group stage
Last 16
20/21
Second round qualifying
Group stage
N/A
19/20
Third round qualifying
Round of 32
N/A
18/19
Third round qualifying
Round of 32
N/A
17/18
Group stage
Round of 32
N/A
16/17
Group stage
N/A
N/A
15/16
Qualifying round
Group stage
N/A
As you can see in the table above, Celtic have failed to get past the last 16 stage in any European competition in any of the last ten seasons.
That is one of the reasons why the Hoops must move on from Taylor this summer because he has not proven himself to be Champions League quality at left-back.
Appearances
8
2
Interceptions per game
1.0
3.5
Tackles per game
1.8
3.5
Clearances per game
1.0
5.5
Duels won per game
3.4
5.0
Duel success rate
54%
71%
Ground duel success rate
57%
82%
Error led to shot
1
0
As you can see in the table above, Schlupp – albeit in a smaller sample size – has shown significantly more defensive quality in his two appearances for Celtic in Europe than the Scottish dud has in eight starts this season.
This suggests that allowing Taylor to move on and signing Schlupp to compete with Tierney could be the way for the Hoops to go if they want to kick on in the Champions League, as the Palace defender could provide more defensive security at left-back in the big games in Europe moving forward.
Therefore, the board should ignore Rodgers’ wish to keep hold of the experienced full-back and ruthlessly ditch him from the squad in the summer, making room for the Eagles loanee to sign permanently, in their bid to improve their Champions League record.
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